This application relates to a modular rigid rail for a fall protection system.
Workers who work on elevated structures are connected to an anchor by means of a lanyard to protect them in the event of a fall. The lanyard can be connected to a fixed point, which will limit the extent to which the worker can move, or to a trolley which will allow the worker to move along an elongate structure, such as a rail car. The trolleys ride along either a cable or a rigid rail. The advantages of connecting the lanyard to a rigid rail over a fixed point include the following:                Rigid rails systems are mounted overhead and feature minimal deflection characteristics so as to limit total arrest distance and the impact effects felt by the user in a fall.        The rigid rail acts as a conduit for a trolley, allowing users' anchor points to track or follow their movements as they traverse the area adjacent to the fall hazard.        Rigid rail systems used in conjunction with self-retracting lanyards further limit the fall arrest distances by way of their automatic functions and locking efficiency of self-retracting lanyards.        The elements of a rigid rail system are typically fastened to a structural element in a manner such that resulting fall arrest loads are transmitted and shared among at least two structural anchor points. These fall arrest loads are further diminished by the efficiency of the self-retracting lanyard's energy absorbing mechanism as well as minor deflection or deformation in the rail element itself.        
Current rigid rail systems commonly utilize rails formed from low-carbon steel on a rolling mill. The rails are then incorporated into a truss assembly in order to achieve resistance to permanent deformation under load. While such rigid rail systems will stop a worker's fall, the rails do not dynamically deflect, and thus do not act to diminish the forces felt by the worker in a fall. Further, truss supported rigid rail systems are labor and time intensive to install, and therefore are expensive to manufacture and install.